A bit cheeky: Beef, Mushroom and Red Wine Pie

I hadn’t intended on cooking beef cheeks for a family lunch but a chance trip to the English Market to meet Clare and her MM on Saturday morning gave me an unexpected opportunity. Queuing at Tom Durcan Meats, there was a bit of banter with the man ahead of me about the lamb’s liver for one that he was picking up – like myself at the cottage, no one else in his house will eat it – and then, rather than ordering a kilo of stewing beef, I asked the butcher what would he recommend for long, slow cooking. “I have an idea,” he said, “but I’m not sure you’ll like it. How do you feel about beef cheeks?”

He had me at beef cheeks – not to mention his challenge! Although it is one of those cuts that I’ve been wanting to try out, I always thought you had to order them in advance. Apparently not so at Tom Durcan Meats. As the butcher chopped and trimmed, he recommended that I cook the meat for a minimum of three hours. Slow cooker on hand, this was no problem so I made the filling part of my planned Beef and Red Wine Pie on Saturday evening, leaving the flavours to get to know each other a little better overnight.

Sunday morning, as I decanted the mixture into a pie dish, I tasted it. Without a doubt, this was the best casserole I have ever made. Now, it may have to do with the fact that I like to cook chorizo with beef and there was also enough red wine in there to make anyone happy but the flavour and texture of the beef cheeks was incomparable. Topped off with a light, scone-like dough, this seemed to be the general consensus at lunchtime too. There was a general licking of plates – even from the Little Sister who doesn’t generally do stews – and demands for more. I didn’t mention the cut of meat: as my mother said, the squeamish family enjoyed it but, maybe if they knew, it might not have been quite so nice.

I’ve no such reservations. This is a cut that’s just perfect for long, slow forget-about-it cooking, either in your oven or slow cooker. I loved how sweet and melt-in-your-mouth tender the meat was – and the fact that I’ve another kilo stashed in the freezer, just waiting for another rainy casserole day.

Beef (Cheek) and Red Wine PieIf you can get your hands on it, Gubbeen chorizo is fabulous in this. Have a chat with your local butcher about beef cheeks – you never know, he just might have some on hand!

To make the filling: preheat the oven to 150ºC or get your slow cooker ready.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chorizo, celery, onions, garlic and carrots. Fry for 8-10 minutes until the celery, onions and garlic are softened but not brown. Remove with a slotted spoon and place into a large casserole.

Heat the same frying pan over a high heat, adding more olive oil if necessary. Toss the chunks of beef in the seasoned flour then brown all over, in batches. Add to the chorizo, celery, onions, garlic and carrots in your casserole.

Pour the red wine into the frying pan, scraping any sediment off the base, and bring to the boil. Pour into the casserole, with the bay leaves, thyme and enough water to cover the meat. Season well, bring to the boil then cover and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 3-3½ hours until the meat is tender.

Alternatively, transfer into your slow cooker, cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours until the meat is tender.

Either way, now is a good time to leave it sit overnight before you get on with topping and cooking the pie. Or you could just eat it for dinner.

To make the pastry: whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together. Rub in the butter then add milk so that it comes together in a smooth dough. This can also be done in a food processor. Wrap and refridgerate for 30 minutes.

To finish the pie: preheat oven to 180ºC. Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan, add the quartered mushrooms, season well and cook for 6-8 minutes over a medium heat until lightly browned. Stir into the filling and spoon into a large pie dish.

Roll the pastry out to 3mm thickness and cover pie. Glaze with egg and milk mixture. Bake for 35-40 minutes until pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately with roast vegetables and roast garlic and rosemary potatoes or garlic and rosemary mash.

13 Responses

That pie looks warm and cosy and perfect for a cold evening/afternoon. Love the idea of using beef cheeks, lots of chefs in LA feature it on their menu. It was so nice to meet up with you at the English Market, we’ll be back again soon!

I’ve come across so many recipes for beef cheeks and Jack McCarthy offered them to me once but I couldn’t take him up on the offer then – and always regretted it! Meeting you two there was the perfect opportunity to get my hands on them. Not to mention the great company over lunch! Lots of other places to try in Cork on your next visit…

I think Paul is right – it’s so strange that people have a problem with eating something called “beef cheek” but will happily enjoy it when they don’t know what cut of meat it is. It’s well priced here at the moment, probably because no one wants to eat it.

I was thinking of cooking the rest of the cheeks in my freezer in a rich, dark chilli – and then returning hastily to Tom Durcan Meats to stock up again!

Hi Martin, will have to try the “Beef” at the Tannery when I go home to Waterford in May – Etain and Mallon send best wishes to you an Sile! I found your wonderful B&B “Le Presbytère” through Caroline’s site last year, I keep spreading the word!

Thank you for very interesting recipe. Slow cookers are handy year-round, but they really pull their weight in the winter I love to try out new recipes. This sounds perfect for my husband. Especially since it’s too cold to grill out right now. Would recommend it to anyone.

Hiya, just came accross your website tonight by chance. loved your article on the beef cheeks, am in the midst of setting up my own website at the moment and i would love to talk to you about reciepes. Could you give me a buzz on 0862568962 or alternatively pop into the shop for a chat. Regards, Tom

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